Basket truck and lift for same



April 24, 1962 l. E. MASKEL BASKET TRUCK AND LIFT FOR SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1958 INVENTOR. 6/4/46 E. MASKEL 4 falmeys April 24, 1962 l. E. MASKEL BASKET TRUCK AND LIFT FOR SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1958 6 L v/ m5 5 TK M WM 0 W W A E M C A n W m April 24, 1962 l. E. MASKEL BASKET TRUCK AND LIFT FOR SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 8, 1958 6 R H 05 N K z m m VM 7 m A E M C M 6% Y B I United States Patent ()1 3,031,092 BASKET TRUCK AND LIFT FOR SAME Isaac E. Maskel, 233 Cranston St., New Haven, Conn.

Filed May 8, 1958, Ser. No. 734,043

Claims. (Cl. 214-310) This invention relates to basket trucks, such as are used in the handling and sorting of small parcels.

In sorting and distributing small parcels, as in a post oflice, department store, or parcel delivery service, it is common to use basket trucks, also called tubs in the US. postal service. These often comprise a wheeled base with a rigid frame on the base, and a flexible fabric insert suspended deeply in the frame from the top edge thereof.

The men must bend over deeply when reaching the bottom, with resulting fatigue and waste of time. The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve such trucks, and to lessen the bending required. For this purpose, I take advantage of the fact that the tub insert is fabric with flexible sides, and I provide means to raise the bottom of the tub insert as it is partially emptied.

A further object of the invention is to provide varied means to raise the bottom of the tub insert, including a simple manual means, a more elaborate powerized means, and preferably both, thus adding greatly to the flexibility of operation in that the manual means may be used when enough powerized means are not available, as during a peak of rush work.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the basket truck and lift elements and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a generally con ventional form of basket truck improved to embody features of my invention.

FIG. 2 is a generally similar view showing the truck with the bottom of the tub insert raised to about half its original depth;

FIG. 3 is a schematic transverse section explanatory of the invention in one form;

FIGS. 4, 4A, 5, and 5A, are generally similar views showing slightly modified forms, and simplified by omitting the base .and wheels from the drawing;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a powerized lift for use with the basket truck;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the lift shown in FIG. 6, operating on a basket truck; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective View of a modified lift driven by hydraulic means.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the basket truck or tub there shown comprises a base 12 movable on small wheels 14 and 16. In one common form there are four wheels, with the fore and aft wheels 14 swivel mounted for free caster action, and with the side wheels 16 fixed in direction. A rigid frame 18 is mounted on the base 12, and a flexible fabric tub insert 20 is suspended in the frame from the top edge thereof. The illustrated basket is of a type used by the U8. Post Oflice, and the frame is made up of a number of generally U-shaped metal rods, more clearly shown at 22 and 24 in FIG. 2. At their upper ends these rods are secured to a peripheral rod, not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2. The top edge of the fabric insert is secured to the peripheral rod, and one common way in which this is done is to provide the top edge with a series of eyelets which permit lacing the same to the frame. Specifically, the top edge is folded outwardly and downwardly about the peripheral rod, and lacing 26 is then carried back 3,031,092 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 and forth through mating eyelets, as indicated in the drawing.

' As so far described the construction is conventional, but in accordance with my invention, a plurality of hooks are secured partway down the flexible sides of the tub insert, as shown at 30 in FIG. 1. When the tub is about half empty, the operator may raise the bottom by simply hooking the hooks 30 over the top of the frame, as shown in FIG. 2.

For this purpose it is preferred to stiffen the bottom of the tub insert, which may be done by the provision of a suitable stilfening board, such as light weight plywood. Thus, referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the bot-tom of the insert 20 is stiffened by a board 32 which is disposed inside. In FIG. 4A the bottom is stiffened by aboard 34 which is beneath the fabric, but secured thereto in any desired fashion.

For a reason explained later, it is preferred to afford a space between the bottom of the insert and the base.

In FIG. 4A there are spacers 36 secured directly to the bottom face of the board 34. For use with the particular basket truck here shown, the spacers 36 preferably extend longitudinally of the truck.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 there again are three spacers 38 extending longitudinally of the truck, but these are disposed beneath the fabric bottom of the insert, and fastening means extending through the bottom stiffener 32 into the spacers 38 serve also to secure these parts to the fabric. The spacers are provided to facilitate powerized lifting of the bottom, in contrast to the manual lift so far described.

In respect to FIG. 4A it will be understood that if it were known that the basket truck would be used always with lift stations, and never manually, the bottom 34 with its spacers 36 might be positioned in the truck above the base, without ever fastening it to the tub insert. The stiff bottom 34 with its spacers 36 might simply rest beneath the fabric insert, and be confined in position by the frame.

It is not essential for the spacers to rise with the bottom of the tub insert, and instead they may be secured to the base of the truck. This is shown in FIG. 3, in

I which the base 12, on wheels 14, 16, carries frame 18,

to which fabric insert 20 is laced, all as before. In this case the bottom stiffener 33 is simply dropped loosely into the insert 20. The spacers 39 are fixedly secured to the base 12. Thus, when the bottom of the insert is raised by lift arms 46, or manually by the side hooks, the spacers 39 remain on the base 12.

When special fabric inserts are made, in lieu of using the original inserts now available, they may be made a fewinches shorter in depth, thereby providing a space between the bottom of the insert and the base of the truck. Such an insert is shown at 220 in FIG. 5A. The bottom may be stiffened by simply dropping a stiffening board 233 into the fabric insert, and no spacers are needed between the base (not shown) and the insert. The fabric sides act also as the means to afford the desired spacing between the bottom and the base.

Referring now to FIG. 6 of the drawing, I them show one form of powerized lift designed for the present purpose. This comprises a stationary base 40, carrying uprights 42. A slide generally designated 44 is movable on the uprights 42. Spaced arms 46 project horizontally from the slide 44. Antifriction means may be provided, as shown in FIG. 7, in which the slide 44 has rollers 48 and 50 disposed on opposite. sides of the upright 42. These are so placed that they bear against the upright when the arms 46 are placed under load.

Reverting to FIG. 6, the lift further comprises power driven means to raise or lower the side 44 with its arms 46. In the present case this is of the winch type,

and comprises a reversible electric motor 52, preferably of the type having built-in reduction gearing housed at 54, with the slow speed output shaft 56 connected to a suitable reel or drum 58. A cable 60 is secured at 62 to a stationary head 64 fixedly mounted at the upper ends of the posts 42. Head 64 rotatably carries a sheave 66, and the slide 44 rotatably carries another sheave 68. Starting at the anchorage 62 the cable extends downwardly to and around the sheave 68, and thence upwardly to and around the sheave 66, and thence downward to a direction-changing guide pulley 70, which leads to the drum 58. It will be understood that various other pulley arrangements may be provided, affording greater or lesser mechanical advantages, as desired.

When the arms 46 are in lowered position they are at appropriate height to be received above the base and beneath the bottom of the tub insert, and they are at appropriate spacing to be received between the spacers, when spacers are used.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the initial position of the bottom of the tub is shown in broken lines at 72'. No spacers are shown, and the truck may be of the type illustrated schematically in FIG. SA. The dropped position of the lift arms is shown in broken lines at 46'. Thus the truck may be wheeled up to the stationary lift, and the arms 46 slide into position beneath the insert as shown at 7-2'. The operator then removes articles from the tube, say for sorting, and after partially emptying the tub he energizes the motor 52 to raise the arms 46. This may be done in a series of small steps in order to keep the parcels in the tub at a comfortable working height substantially at the top of the tub. The position of the arms, when raised about halfway, is shown in solid lines at 46, the bottom .of the tub then being at 72.

For convenience in wheeling the truck up to the lift, the base 40 (FIG. 6) may be provided with angularly disposed guides shown at 74. These are disposed to come between the side wheels 16 (FIGS. 1 and 7) of the truck, but there is a wide spacing between the free ends of the guides 74, so as to easily receive the leading caster wheel of the truck. When the truck has been pushed all the way into the lift, the side wheels 16 (FIG. 7) straddle the guides 74, and may stop just short of the base memhers 40.

As a further convenience in operating the lift, the motor 52 is preferably controlled by a switch bar 76 (FIG. 6) which may operate a reversing switch housed at 78. The switch bar 76 preferably extends across the machine, so that it may be operated from either side. Various switch systems may be used, but that here employed is quite simple, and relies on an upward move ment of the switch bar to drive the motor in lifting direction, and downward movement of the switch bar to drive the motor in lowering direction. Because of the convenient location of the switch bar the operator is encouraged to raise the bottom of the tub insert in several steps, thus promoting maximum work speed and efficiency, with minimum fatigue.

In FIG. 6 attention is directed also to the top and bottom limit switches 80 and 82. These simply arrest continued operation of the motor when the slide 44 has reached its limit of motion. More specifically, limit switch 80 is disposed in that circuit of the motor which operates it in lifting direction, and so opens the circuit without, however, preventing operation of the motor in lowering direction. Conversely, the limit switch 82 is disposed in that circuit of the motor which lowers the slide, and opening of the circuit does not prevent renewed operation of the motor in lifting direction.

In FIGS. 3 through 5 and 7 hooks 30 are shown on the fabric sides of the tub. These are preferably provided even though the powerized lift is available. There is an advantage in providing also for manual lift, as shown in FIG. 2, because then the bottom may be manually lifted if for any reason the power lift is not available. This might be the cause of servicing, or because it is desired to empty an additional truck at a location where there is no lift, or because during peak operation (for example the heavy Christmas mail) there are more men at work over more basket trucks than there are power lifts, which may be installed to only the extent needed for more normal service.

A modified form of lift is shown in FIG. 8. This is arranged for hydraulic rather than winch operation. Specifically, an electric motor drives a small pump 92 which leads to a hydraulic cylinder 94. This has a slidable piston rod 96 carrying a head 98 at its upper end. The latter has pulleys 100 receiving cables 102. These are secured at one end to the cylinder 94, as shown at 104, and are secured at their other ends to the slide 144, as shown at 106. The slide 144 has horizontally projecting arms 146, and is slidable on uprights or posts 142 carried by a base 140, which parts all correspond to the parts 44, 46, 42, and 40 previously described. When plunger 96 and head 98 are raised, the slide 144 is raised twice as far, and similarly when plunger 96 and head 98 are lowered, the slide 144 is correspondingly lowered but twice as far. This gain in motion is desirable to permit the arms 146 to move down to a point much lower than the top of the cylinder 94.

An oil reservoir is provided, and in one commercial available form of cylinder 94 the oil reservoir is in an annular space around the working cylinder. Thus the cylinder 94 may consist of concentric cylinders, the inner of which receives the plunger 96 and acts as a motor, while the outer cylinder is a reservoir for reserve oil and for receiving oil when the plunger is lowered.

As before, the apparatus is preferably provided with a top limit switch 108 which arrests continued operation of motor 90 when the slide has risen as far as permitted. No bottom limit switch is required if the slide is lowered gravitationally by simply opening a check valve between the pump 92 and the motor cylinder within 94. A switch bar may be provided at the top of the uprights 142, as previously described, and in this case it need only move in one direction, say downward, to operate the motor to cause lifting of the arms 46, it being unnecessary to provide a reversing motor at 90. However, instead of a switch bar, in the present case I have indicated a variant arrangement in which a foot operated button is provided at 110 on base 140, and the operator needs merely to step on the button 110 at intervals when it is desired to raise the arms 146. To lower the arms 146 another foot control is provided, here shown at 112. This may be a me chanical control connected to a release valve in the hydraulic system, or it may be a switchbutton controlling the circuit of a solenoid-operated valve.

If desired the motor 90 may be made reversible, in which case the button 110 operates it in one direction, and the button 112 in the other. A lower limit switch is then desirable, as previously described for FIGS. 6 and 7.

As so far described, the arms of the power lift are beneath the bottom of the tub insert, and serve to lift the bottom directly. However, it is also possible to provide arms disposed at greater spacing to straddle the tub and to engage hooks at the sides of the tub insert for raising the same. This arrangement is shown schematically in FIG. 5, in which a fabric tub is suspended within a rigid frame 118 and may be provided with a bottom stiffener shown at 132. The sides of the tub have fittings 114 which include outwardly directed hooks 116. The arms of the lift apparatus are disposed edgewise, and are shown in section at 246. When the truck is moved on its wheels to the lift, it is moved between the spaced arms 246, which then either engage the outwardly directed books 116, or are disposed directly beneath the same. It will also be understood that the spaced arms 246 are again carried by a slide which is vertically movable on uprights, under power driven means such as the winch of FIG. 6 or the hydraulic cylinder of FIG. 8. When the arms 246 are raised the bottom 132 of the tub is raised much as shown in FIG. 2, except that the operation is powerized instead of being manual.

The fittings 114 (FIG. 5) preferably include inwardly directed hooks 130, as well as the outwardly directed hooks 116, thus making possible manual operation as well as powered operation. Also, the bottom 132 may be provided with spacers, or may be hung somewhat higher than the base, as shown in FIG. 5, but only if the basket truck is intended to be used with both types of lift apparatus, it being evident that the space beneath the bottom is not needed if the basket truck is going to be used solely with lift apparatus having side arms as shown in FIG. 5.

It is believed that the construction and method of use of my improved basket truck, and lift apparatus for the same, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The invention helps bring the contents at the bottom of the tub up to a comfortable working height. It is useful in post oflice basket trucks and in other fields such as laundries, hospitals, parcel services, etc. It increases production by reducing fatigue. The bottom may be lifted either manually or under power, which adds greatly to flexibility in use.

The postal sorting practice employs a conveyor with men working at the conveyor to toss parcels into an array of say fifteen basket trucks or tubs, of which some, say five, may represent individual large cities, while the other ten may each represent an area having about sixty small post offices. These latter tubs are then rolled to sorting stations where a worker tosses the parcels into an array of say sixty sacks supported in racks. The sacks are much smaller than the tubs, in top area, and a much larger number are within tossing reach. The primary reading at the conveyor does not actually sack any of the mail, and it is only in the secondary reading that the mail is sacked. This procedure is followed because there would be excessive bending if all of the mail were started from tubs, whereas in contrast, the conveyor is at table or work height.

My invention permits a worker to work directly from a tub at convenient height, and therefore a first sorting may go directly from a tub to an array of racked sacks, surrounded by a reduced number of tubs. It is known, statistically, that about 50% of the mail goes to only say of the post offices, or racked sacks. Thus, each lift station might work with an array of say forty racked sacks, instead of sixty, and say five tubs positioned just outside the racks. With this arrangement a large part, say half the mail, could be sacked directly in the first reading, and the few tubs would then be moved to other lift stations for a second reading which would handle and sack only the remaining mail.

It will be understood that some constructional features shown are intended merely to make full use of basket trucks already in service. For example, instead of stiffening a fabric bottom by adding a board, a stiff bottom may be used with no fabric bottom, that is, only the sides need be flexible fabric. The means at the sides to be secured manually to the top frame need not necessarily be hooks, and other means may be provided such as loops which are secured over stationary pins at the top of the frame. The spacers shown at the bottom are employed because the present metal frame includes cross-connections between the uprights, but it is evident that a specially constructed truck may provide space for the lift arms at the base iself. Thus, in FIG. 2, the parts 200 would themselves act as spacers, in the absence of the cross rods 202, and a specially constructed truck could omit the cross rods 202., thereby eliminating the need for the spacers shown in FIGS. 1-4. Some trucks more recently supplied to the postal service have two front and two rear rollers, instead of one, there being six rollers in all. The forward and rear ones are caster-mounted, and the middle pair are not. It is evident that in such cases the guides 6 74 (FIG. 6) and the base members 40, may be modified to come either inside, or outside of the three wheels at each side.

The switch bar operation may be reversed, and indeed may be arranged to secure automatic operation. If the switching is reversed so that downward movement of the bar 76 causes lifting of the bottom, and further is arranged to drop gravitationally of its own weight (or by a spring if necessary), the rise becomes automatic, and is stopped when parcels reach the bar and raise it to horizontal position. After sorting of the top parcels the bar again drops, with consequent further rise of the bottom, and so on. However, on nearing completion of the load, the bar may be manually turned up to and it remains in vertical position, thereby reversing the motor and causing lowering of the bottom all the way down. On delivery of another basket truck to the lift, the bar is manually turned from upright position to horizontal position, whereupon automatic operation begins, and continues step by step as described.

These and other changes may be made, and it will therefore be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in several forms, changes may be made in the structures shown without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims:

I claim:

1. In combination, a basket truck and a powerized lift for the bottom of the same, said basket truck comprising a Wheeled base having ends and sides, the said wheels facilitating rolling movement in a direction end foremost, a rigid frame on said base having ends and sides, at least the ends of said frame being open except for spaced uprights, and a flexible fabric tub insert suspended in said frame from the top edge thereof, said lift comprising a stationary base, uprights on said base, a slide movable on said uprights, spaced arms projecting horizontally from said slide, and power driven means to raise or lower the slide and arms, the location and relative dimensioning of the arms of the lift and the parts of the truck being such that the basket truck may be rolled on its Wheels end foremost to the stationary lift with the spaced arms passing through the open end of the frame above the base and engaging the flexible tub insert, and the lift then used to raise the bottom.

2. In combination, a basket truck and a powerized lift for the bottom of the same, said basket truck comprising a wheeled base having ends and sides, the said wheels facilitating rolling movement in a direction end foremost, a rigid frame on said base having ends and sides, at least the ends of said frame being open except for spaced uprights, and a flexible fabric tub insert suspended in said frame from the top edge thereof, said tub insert having a stiff bottom means affording space between said bottom and said wheeled base, said lift comprising a stationary base, uprights on said base, a slide movable on said up rights, spaced arms projecting horizontally from said slide, and power driven means to raise or lower the slide and arms, the location and relative dimensioning of the arms of the lift and the parts of the truck being such that the basket truck may be rolled on its wheels end foremost to the stationary lift with the spaced arms passing through the open end of the frame above the base and engaging the flexible tub insert in the clear space between the bottom and the base, and the lift then used to raise the bottom.

3. In combination, a basket truck and a powerized lift for the bottom of the same, said basket truck comprising a wheeled base having ends and sides, the said wheels facilitating rolling movement in a direction end foremost, a rigid frame on said base having ends and sides, at least the ends of said frame being open except for spaced uprights, a flexible fabric tub insert suspended in said frame from the top edge thereof, said tub insert having a stiff bottom, and hooks secured part way down the flexible walls of the tub insert, said lift comprising a stationary base, uprights on said base, a slide movable on said uprights, spaced arms projecting horizontally from said slide, and power driven means to raise or lower the slide and arms, the location and relative dimensioning of the arms of the lift and the parts of the truck being such that the basket truck may be rolled on its wheels end foremost to the stationary lift with the spaced arms passing through the open end of the frame above the base and engaging the flexible tub insert, and the lift then used to raise the bottom.

4. In combination, a basket truck and a powerized lift for the bottom of the same, said basket truck comprising a wheeled base having ends and sides, the said wheels facilitating rolling movement in a direction end foremost, a rigid frame on said base having ends and sides, at least the ends of said frame being open except for spaced uprights, a flexible fabric insert suspended in said frame from the top edge thereof, said tub insert having a stiff bottom, means affording space between said bottom and the wheeled base, and means secured part way down the flexible walls of the tub insert whereby the bottom may be raised by engaging said means and the top of the frame, said lift comprising a stationary base, uprights on said base, a slide movable on said uprights, spaced arms projecting horizontally from said slide, and power driven means to raise or lower the slide and arms, the location and relative dimensioning of the arms of the lift and the parts of the truck being such that the basket truck may be rolled on its wheels end foremost to the stationary lift with the spaced arms passing through the open end of the frame above the base and being received in the clear 8 space between the bottom and the base, and the lift then used to raise the bottom.

5. In combination, a basket truck and a powerized lift for the bottom of the same, said basket truck comprising a wheeled base having ends and sides, the said wheels facilitating rolling movement in a direction end foremost, a rigid frame on said base having ends and sides, the ends of said frame having upright passages extending substantially from top to bottom, a stiff bottom movable up and down within the aforesaid rigid frame, means affording space between said bottom and said wheeled base, said lift comprising a stationary base, uprights on said base, a slide movable on said uprights, spaced arms projecting horizontally from said slide, and power dn'ven means to raise or lower the slide and arms, the location and relative dimensioning of the arms of the lift and the parts of the truck being such that the truck may be rolled on its wheels end foremost to the stationary lift with the spaced arms passing through the upright passages of the end above the base and into the clear space between the bottom and the base, and the lift then used to raise the bottom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,582,272 Josephson Apr. 27, 1926 1,823,055 Magill Sept. 15, 1931 2,438,596 Arave et al Mar. 30, 1948 2,483,582 Hill Oct. 4, 1949 2,635,850 Mulvihill Apr. 21, 1953 2,653,679 Hamilton Sept. 29, 1953 

